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l. 6L J. S. VAN PELT.

Carriage Coupling.

' Patented -April 21, 1868.

'TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

gums tetra gaunt 'ffinzd IRA VANPELT AND JOHN s. VAN Pam, OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.

Letters Patent No. 77,132, dated April 1868.

the firlpbnh infant an that ihttns haunt amt uniting part at the same.

Be it known that we, IRA VAN Pam and JOHN S. VAN PIILT, of Petersburg, in the county of Dinwiddie, and State of Virginia, have invented a new and improved Carriage-Coupling; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, suificient to enable those skilled in the art to which our invention appertains to make use of it, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- The drawing is a longitudinal vertical section through the centre of a carriage containing our improvement.

In this invention the use of coupling-basis dispensed with, and a. carriage is made without them, which is simpler in construction, stronger, and works better than the carriages in which such bars are employed.

In the drawing, A represents the body of our improved carriage; B, one otf 'the forward wheels; 0, the forward axle; D, the tongue; E,.the swingle -tree; F,'tlie fifth-wheel or circle; and G, the bolster. There is nothing peculiar in the construction of these parts, except as will be hereafter described.

H is the king-bolt, extending through both the bolster and axle-tree. The bolster. is slotted at c, as shown in the drawing, the king-bolt passing vertically through the contract the slot.

A chain, I, extends from the centre of the swingle-tree to the bolster, and is attached to the king-bolt within the slots. From each end of the swingle tree,a chain,IJ, extends to thea-xle-tree, and isfa-stened to it by means of a staple or other suitable-device. :The three chains, I,'J J, being of equal length, the swin'gle-trce would not turn on its pivot in turning the wagonwere not some provision made to enable it todo so. We therefore attach the swingle-tree to a sliding pivot, z, moving-back and forth in a slot, 8, in the oarriag cdongue. As thus constructed, when the draught is directly forward, the pivot and swingle-tree will workfat the forward end of the slot, as shown in the drawing, but when the carriage is turning they will slide back towards the rear end of the slot, and so slacken the middle chain I and the chain on the side towards which the carriage is turning,

that the swinglc-t-ree can swing on its axis 'suficiently'to-accommodate itself to the movement of the carriage.-

. In operating thus, it is evident that it relieves the king-bolt of all undue pressure when turning the car riage, bringing the strain-upon the tongue and outside chains J J alone. One of the chains, I, being attached to the bolster above the cireleF, and the other two, J J, below it to the axle, the strain is brought at all times equally upon both axle and bolster, relieving the king-bolt, and

making the coupling peculiarly strong and firm. The carriage can .be made at less expense inthis way than in the old way, and while it works as ensilyfis stronger than when constructed with coupling-bars connecting the bolster and rear axle. The latter, in our carriages, is attached to thewagombody, and not connected in any way with the forward axle or bolster.

Having thus described our invention, what wccla-im as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-.- The combination of the sliding pivoted swingle-tree E with the chains I, J J, axle C, andbolster- G, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

A IRA VAN PELT.

JOHN S. VAN FELT. Witnesses:

T. E. MARABLE,

CHAS. A. PETTIT. Witnesses:

W. H. LAHMEYEB,

Guns. A. PETTIT. 

